New Hair Transplant takes Hair from Chest

Most of us have seen those video clips of men undertaking hair transplants where the hair is taken from the back of the head, and transplanted onto the front. But now, in a revolutionary new technique, hair from the chest area is being used.

In typical hair transplants, hair is normally taken from areas of the head where there is a lot of hair. This involves removing healthy hair follicles from the area of plentiful hair, to where the hair is thinning, usually the crown or the sides of the head. Hair experts know this technique as Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE). But in cases where the client is completely bald, there is no hair available to transplant, so until now, there has been little to offer these types of clients.

Now however, a new technique involving using chest hair and hair from other parts of the body could help with clients who have little hair on their heads. This means that men, who previously were not eligible for a transplant, could now possibly have a full head of hair.

Dr Thomy Kouremada-Zioga, who works in London’s Private Clinic and has over 8 years experience working in FUE hair restoration, specialises on using body hair where the client’s head hair is sparse, she says:

“For some patients a straightforward transplant, using only hairs from the head, is not possible. But on instances where this hair at the back is thinning, using body hair for part of the treatment may be a viable option for some patients. In these cases it may be an option for us to look at using hair from their chest to help us achieve a greater level of density and therefore improving the overall result.”

Dr Kouremada-Zioga does acknowledge that the hair from parts of a man’s body is ‘quite different from that on their head’:

“It is thicker, curlier and more wiry. So it is not possible to take a man who is totally bald on top and use hair from their chest as the only source of hair for the transplant. The final result would be unnatural looking and undesirable – so in every instance we would want to keep hair used from the chest to a minimum.”

Hair transplants have become popular, not only with celebrities such as Wayne Rooney, Calum Best, Gordon Ramsay and James Nesbitt, but with men around the world, who are tired of their thinning hair. In fact, the way celebrities have embraced hair transplants has made undertaking the procedure for ordinary men much easier, as where people in the public eye lead, the rest will follow.

The FUE treatment, whether using hair from the back of a client’s head or from the chest, is carried out under local anaesthetic. This means there is no need for an overnight stay at the clinic. The procedure does not cause any scarring or stitches and the results are permanent.